UPDATE 1-Blue Apron co-founder steps down as CEO, to be replaced by CFO

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

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Nov 30 (Reuters) - Blue Apron on Thursday replaced co-founder Matt Salzberg as chief executive with Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson in a reshuffle that follows a rocky few months at the meal-kit delivery company that went public in June.

Salzberg will become executive chairman, Blue Apron said.

His departure as CEO follows the exit of Matthew Wadiak, another Blue Apron co-founder, as chief operating officer in July.

New York-based Blue Apron’s shares have plunged 70 percent since their debut earlier this year amid poorly received financial results and brutal competition from startups including HelloFresh and Plated, and more recently Amazon.com Inc.

The loss-making company is also spending heavily on building out a distribution facility in New Jersey by diverting funds from its advertising budget, a move that has slowed subscriptions from new customers.

Blue Apron, founded in 2012, had about 856,000 active customers in the third quarter, down 6 percent from a year ago, it reported earlier this month.

Incoming CEO Dickerson served at sportswear firm Under Armour for 11 years before joining Blue Apron in February 2016.